ECB wants commando protection for players

David Collier, chief executive of the ECB, and Sean Morris of the Professional Cricketers' Association have been briefed on the latest security situation in India by the Government. The players will then be briefed about the same.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the ECB have asked the BCCI for commandos to accompany the team as well as an emergency evacuation plan in case of a terror attack.

Sky Sports reported that the ECB told the players that the tour will go ahead and the final decision rests with the players. But the ECB has denied a decision has been made although an official announcement is expected soon.

The ECB security expert, Reg Dickason, arrived in India this morning to carry out security reviews at the two Test venues - Chennai and Mohali.

Dickason will quiz the BCCI's security team on contingency plans at the venues.

The Indian board is confident the tour will go ahead. "We will provide all possible security. The agencies involved in such cases are fully seized of the matter. We are safe to host the series," an official said.

With the warm-up game being cancelled, it is likely that a short training camp may be held in the Middle East, while security reports on the two new venues are compiled.

Even though BCCI has revised the itinerary, some of the senior English players still have reservations about touring India. Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson and Steve Harmison seem set to miss out on the tests.

England will donate half their match fees from the first Test against India to the families of victims of last month's attacks in Mumbai, batsman Alastair Cook said on Tuesday.
England flew into this southern city on Monday to resume the tour that was interrupted by the attacks on November 26 that left 172 dead and more than 300 wounded.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The England and Wales cricket board (ECB) will send a security consultant to India before deciding whether to take part in this month's two-test series following the deadly attacks in Mumbai.
The ECB tentatively agreed to play after the Indian authorities switched the venues to Chennai and Mohali, from Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the west.

The England cricket team is likely to return to India on December 3 for the two-test series.
According to a report in the Indian news channel CNN-IBN, the first test, starting on December 11, is likely to be shifted from Ahmedabad to Mohali.

International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat has pleaded with England's stars to return to India for next month's two-Test series.
England flew back to London on Saturday after the final two one-day internationals against India were postponed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai this week that killed 174 people.

India's government has refused permission to send a cricket team for a full tour of Pakistan early next year following the deadly Mumbai attacks, Indian television reported on Sunday.
The tour was cancelled amid a government probe into Pakistani links to the assaults on the country's financial capital by heavily-armed militants that left nearly 200 people dead.